Some 50 metric tons of sweet Guimaras mangoes will find its way to Australian market every year, starting 2012, Ma. Teresa Solis, chief of the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division of the Department of Agriculture in Iloilo, said.

This development follows the export of some 2.8 metric tons of the mangoes early June this year.

For 2011, the commitment is at five metric tons and will be increased to 50 metric tons starting next year.

Solis said that export was the result of the market matching during the agricultural trade fair held last month at the Mall of Asia, Pasay City, with Roberto Amores of the Hi-LAS Marketing Corporation closing the deal with the Guimaras Mango Growers Cooperative.

Mango has been dubbed as one of the investment priorities of Guimaras

Meantime, other deals that were finalized were on sweet potato to be shipped to the United States and muscovado sugar to Japan.

Malou Hontiveros said that her company is interested in buying 200 metric tons of potato chips per month. Around 60-70 hectares will be planted every month in Guimaras. A proposal to establish a processing plant in the province was also discussed.

Hirotaka Ishihara of Takahashi-Bussho C. Ltd and Lala S. Mirchandani of Sharmila, Inc. are interested to buy muscovado sugar from Antique and Negros Occidental. Ishihara is slated to visit the sugar plants in the region in October, this year.

Mirchandani, meantime, placed an initial order of 200 sacks.*PNA

back to top